Folding chair



Jan. 22, 1935. l. SALOMON FOLDING CHAIR Filed Feb. 223, 1955 GttornegPatented Jan. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES @P j* i ,1,988,811 y o FoLDiNGCHsjIR YIrving Salomon, Millflg'fill City, 11.1.11- vApplicant@Februaryes, `1933, -ser'iaiNa s535584 1 Claim.

i invention relates to animprovement in steeljfolding chairs, and Vmorein particular to a folding chair provided with novel supportsforthelegs, andvwith novel rlocking means to retain said supports and legsimposition.

The object of this invention is to providev a lcomfortable rfoldingchair of a nstrong durable nature and one whichwwhen-foldedto collapsedpositionjwill consumebut a minimum of space and which will be capable ofbeing easily reopened.

Another object is to provide a folding chair having braces forstrengthening its legs, and locking means to positively retain thebraces in their leg-supporting positions.

Still a further object resides in the provision of a novel means forlocking the leg braces in position, and the provision of easilyaccessible and operable means for releasing the same.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be hereinafterdescribed and become apparent upon consideration of the accompanyingdrawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a bottom perspective view showing the chair in open positionwith the legs locked in place;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the chair in a folded position;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the chair in open position runningfrom front to rear;

Fig. 4 is a. cross sectional view of a portion of the locking meanstaken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and,

Fig. 5 is a crosssectional view of the same taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

In the drawing wherein like reference numerals throughout thespecification designate like parts, a folding chair is shown having rearlegs l0 and 10'. These legs are braced at the bottom by a cross piece 11and at the top by a back 12. The chair is preferably made of metal, andthe joints thereof are preferably welded together, although they may bejoined in any known manner, as by means of bolts. A seat portion 13 hashingedly secured thereto by the hinge members 14 and 14 the front legs15 and 15', whichare braced by the element 16. Fastened to the rearcorners of the seat 13 are members 17 and 17 which are provided with anupstanding ear 18 as shown in Figure 3, which portion is pivotallyconnected to the rear legs by the pin 19. Securely fastened to the underside of the seat in parallel relation to each other, and adjacent theedges of the seat, are two L-shaped members 20 and 20'. These membersare of metal as is the rest of the .ohain and laref secured to the seatlby sonie suitable means such ras welding, or by kfr ij/le'ts, which.means is 'preferably Aused throughout tle entire chair structurer toassure rigidityaridfsta.- bility. kThe L-shaped members 20 and. 2'0" are5 each vprovided.vvith an elongated slot fsuch as .Shdwnlazlandzlw i l,f, v L

Eivotally connected to .therear'ehairlegsllas ai .12.-2 @eine @wwwmembers-zaandam, which 'have a 'pivotal 'engagement with'tlri'e end 10of rod 24 as at 25. This rod is supported at either end for slidingmovement in the slots 21 and 21'. The front legs 15 and 15 are alsoprovided with braces 26 and 26 pivotally connected to the legs at points27 and 2'7'. These 15 braces likewise have a pivotal engagement with therod 24 at either end as at point 25.

Arm members 28 and 28 are pivotally connected as at 29 to the L-shapedelements 20 and 20'. The arms 28 and 28 are tapered at one end and areprovided at that end with notches 30 and 30 for engagement with thecross rod 24. The opposite end of the arms 28 and 28 are bent as at 31',and the extremities thereof are secured to a cross element 32 by pins 3325 and 33.

Midway the length of the cross piece 32 a coil spring 34 is provided,the lower end of which is .held in position relative to the cross piece32 by the stub 35 secured to the piece 32. The upper end of the springis retained in position by virtue of its engagement with the punched outportion 36 of the chair seat 13.

The utility and operation of the chair should readily be appreciated inView of the above description. In Figure 1 the chair is shown in an openand operable position with the legs opened and braced to support theseat. When in this position the braces `23-23' and 26-26 willsubstantially brace the rear and front legs respectively due to the factthat these braces are connected to the chair legs at one end thereof,and at the other end are pivotally secured to the rod 24, which Arod inthe position as shown in Figure l is securely held against movement byvirtue of its locking engagement with the notches 30 and 30' of the arms28 and 28. The spring 34 forces downwardly against the cross piece 32which is connected to the arms 28 and 28', these arms being pivoted atpoints 29 and 29 therefore exert an upward motion to the tapered ends ofthese arms, and thus prevent the escape of the cross piece 24 from thenotches 30 and 30. It is obvious that as long as the cross piece 24 isretained in the position shown in Figure 1, that 55 the various bracesconnected with the front and rear legs will be held securely inposition, and so present an extremely stable chair structure.

If it is desired that the chair assume a collapsed position suchl asthat shown in Figure 2 it is but necessary to reach under the frontportion of the chair seat and depress the cross element 32 against theaction of the spring 32. Such action causes the arms 28 and 28 pivotedat 29 and 29' to move downwardly allowing the cross rod 24 to slip outof the notches 30 and 30 and to slide in the guides 21 and 21' towardsthe rear of the chair seat. The chair is then folded by pulling upwardlyupon the front of the seat, the same being pivoted at its rear cornersas shown at point 19 to the rear legs, and the seat will assume aposition as that shown in Figure 2 wherein the seatportion'b'ec'omesparallel to the top portion of the rear legs,` and the front legs assumea position parallel to the under side of the seat, the chair is thencollapsed in an extremely `compact parcel.

When Ait is desired to again set the chair up for use,y it is onlynecessary to push downwardly upon the seat portion 13 in order to openthe seat and the front legs. Such motion will cause the cross rod 24 tomove forwardly towards the front of the seatin the guides 21 and 21'from nthe position shown iny AFigure 2 to the lock'- ing position shownin Figure 1 which it will auto matically assume.

It is to be understood that I do not intend to limit myself to the exactconstruction herein shown and described, but that the foregoingpresentation of my invention is merely the preferred embodiment of thesame.

I claim:

A folding chair comprising front and rear legs, a seat pivotallyfastenedrto said legs, a pair of slotted angle irons fastened to theunder side of said seat and in proximity to the side edges thereof, saidslots being aligned in a horizontal plane, a cross rod extendingtransversely beneath the seat and supported adjacent its ends forsliding movement in said slots and extending therethrough, bracespivotally connected at one end to a leg and at the opposite end thereofto an end of said cross rod at a point where it extends through saidslots and exterior of said angle irons, and locking means for said legsand braces comprising notched latches pivoted to the inner ksides ofsaid angle irons and the notches thereof engageable with the under sideof said rod, a handle bar'connecting thee'nds of said latches to operatethe same, and a spring fastened to said seat and handle to maintain thelatches in engagement with said rod.l

' 'y IRVING SALOMON.

